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Markers (Guns)
Markers A gas (usually CO2 or high-pressure air) forces a paintball through the barrel at a muzzle velocity of approximately 300 ft/s (91 m/s). This velocity is sufficient for most paintballs to break upon impact at a good distance, but not fast enough to cause tissue damage beyond mild bruising. Nearly every commercial field has, and strictly enforces, a rule limiting the muzzle velocity of a paintball at or below 300 ft/s (91 m/s). The technology used to design and build paintball markers has advanced over time, beginning with the original "Nel-Spot" bolt-action pistols, progressing to pump-action markers, then to semi-automatic mechanical markers, and finally culminating in the electropneunmatic marker.Arguably the most important equipment in paintball, a paintball marker, or gun is the piece of equipment used in all paintball games to shoot an opposing player. In mechanical designs, the trigger manipulates a sear, which is holding a hammer, ram, or sealed gas chamber in its resting state. Pulling the trigger releases the sear, allowing the marker's action to cycle. There are a variety of mechanical designs, the most common being the "blow-back" marker, which utilizes a spring-loaded ram released by the sear to open a pin valve; the pressurized gas released through the valve is directed through the bolt to fire the marker, and also pushes the ram back where it is caught again by the sear, resetting the action for the next shot. In electropneumatic designs, the trigger, instead of being mechanically linked to the action of the marker, simply activates an electronic microswitch (or more recently, a magnetic or optical sensor). That information is passed through control circuitry to a computer-controlled solenoid wave which can open and close very quickly and precisely, allowing gas to move into or out of various pressure chambers in the marker to move the bolt and fire the paintball. This disconnect of the trigger from the action allows electronic trigger pulls to be very short in length and very lightweight, which dramatically increases rate-of-fire over a fully mechanical design. Solenoid-controlled gas valve designs also allow for reduced weight of internal parts, which both lightens overall weight and reduces the time it takes for the marker to cycle through firing a single paintball. Electronic trigger frames, with a solenoid-controlled sear, can be fit to most mechanical "blow-back" designs, but electropneumatic markers are more evolved to more fully incorporate the electronic control elements into the design, and generally fall into two categories. "Poppet-valve" markers are very similar in concept to blow-back designs, but instead of using a spring, the ram is pushed into the pin valve by air directed through the solenoid valve. This allows the ram to be lighter, reducing the weight and the jarring motion of the marker as it cycles. "Spool-valve" markers use the bolt to seal a "dump chamber" containing a charge of pressurized gas. The solenoid controls the flow of additional gas in front of or behind the bolt that allow the bolt to move forward, releasing the pressure in the dump chamber to launch the ball. Electropneumatic designs were initially very expensive, and used only at high-level tournament play. However, as these designs were refined and simplified, the cost to manufacture them was reduced, and beginning with the Smart Parts Ion, manufacturers began designing entry-level electropneumatic markers that had fewer programming features or simpler, less efficient designs, but retained the lighter weight, lower pressure and high cycle rates Contrasting this move toward high rates of fire, there is also a strong following of stock-class paintball games, where players use older, purely mechanical pump-action marker designs to purposefully limit rate of fire. Pump markers require the player to recock the marker, using a pump handle similar to a pump-action shotgun, before each shot. Stock-class games and competitions require the use of pump markers, and also often limit the types and capacities of propellant sources and loading mechanisms that players may use. With the decreased rate of fire and carrying capacity, increased need for reloads of both paintballs and propellant, and the generally quieter report of these markers, stock-class play places more emphasis on accuracy, stealth, and tactics. MilSim Markers which are designed to resemble real guns are referred to as military simulation, or MilSim. They include, for example, the Tippman X7 and the U.S. Army developed Alpha Black (which resembles an M16), RAP4's T68 Paintball Markers (Which resemble the M4 Carbine, has an internal Air or CO2 tank and is magazine fed), or Smart Parts SP8 (based upon the German Heckler and Koch Prototype XM8, and much of the Armotech product line). MilSim markers are used almost exclusively in Woodsball and military scenario games, though with a few modifications the markers can be competitive in the speedball arena, although they tend to be at a major disadvantage. High-end MilSim markers are sometimes claimed to be more rugged than high-end speedball markers, but are heavier and tend to operate at slower rates of fire and tend to be made of cheaper materials than markers designed for tournament play. They can feature camouflage or black coloring (rather than the bright colors found on some tournament markers), since stealth is of more value in the woodsball environment. MilSim markers may use hoppers, or magazines similar to real automatic weapons. Many come with a shoulder stock and use a coiled remote line connected to a tank of propellant usually carried on the players back, in order to follow the MilSim look and to lighten the marker up and make it more maneuverable. MilSim markers can be problematic, in that they can possibly be confused with actual firearms by others not aware of the nature of the device. This can result in dangerous situations, especially if law enforcement has diff iculty discerning the differences between a real-life weapon, and a MilSim marker; in a pre-combat situation, the time allotted to identify an alleged armed target is minimal.